María Jesús Montero now holds the role of PSOE’s deputy spokesperson in the Senate, adding an upper-chamber post to her leadership of the Andalusian Socialists. She replaced María Fernández Álvarez of Asturias in the party role, as reported by EL PAÍS. Montero is also PSOE’s federal deputy secretary general and secretary general of the PSOE-A, linking the party’s national leadership with its Andalusian organisation.
Her Senate seat comes through appointment by the Andalusian Parliament, rather than election in a nationwide Senate ballot. Montero took office on 8 September 2026. The appointment followed her departure from the national government in March, when she left her posts as finance minister and first deputy prime minister to lead the PSOE-A ticket in the Andalusian election. She later moved from the Congress to the Andalusian Parliament, while retaining a parliamentary platform in Madrid and the legal protections attached to her Senate status.
Montero’s political career spans senior posts in the Junta de Andalucía and the national government, where she served in Pedro Sánchez’s cabinet from 2018. She became secretary general of the PSOE-A on 18 January 2025, replacing Juan Espadas. Her responsibilities now cover the federal party and the Andalusian federation, alongside her Senate work.
The Andalusian election on 17 May 2026 gave PSOE-A 22.7% of valid votes and 28 seats, two fewer than its 2022 total. Fundación Centra data cited by Ultima Hora described the result as the party’s worst in the region. The Partido Popular de Andalucía won 41.5% and 53 seats, two short of the 55-seat absolute-majority threshold; in 2022, the PP-A had won 58 seats.
The result followed a period of change for the regional Socialists. Susana Díaz lost the party leadership to Espadas in 2021, and the PSOE-A’s representation fell from 33 seats to 30 in the 2022 election. Montero’s 28-seat result marked a further decline. As the Socialist leader in the Andalusian Parliament, she faces regional president Juanma Moreno in parliamentary control sessions.
Montero has also taken part in national and regional party campaigning. Pedro Sánchez appeared alongside her at PSOE events in Andalusia, including gatherings in Gibraleón, Huelva, on 19 April and Córdoba on 26 April. In October, she outlined an agreement on joint Senate candidacies with the Frente Amplio in seven Andalusian provinces; Sevilla was excluded, and the arrangement required revisions to candidate lists previously approved by the regional party leadership.
In July, Montero urged the PSOE-A leadership to limit internal contests over local candidates, saying, “the fewer primaries, the better.” Her first regular session in the Andalusian Parliament, on 23 July, was marked by a confrontation. She led Socialist deputies out of the chamber after Antonio Sanz, the regional presidency’s representative, suggested the opposition wanted wildfires to damage the government’s image. The protest followed chamber president Ana Mestre’s decision to deny the Socialists the floor.
Montero has criticized the use of the Senate for political maneuvering, objecting to the PP summoning her as PSOE’s Andalusian candidate. Her declaration of assets and income as a senator lists a gross monthly salary of €5,070.86 as PSOE spokesperson in the Andalusian Parliament, as well as €4,500 a year from a rental property. Her declared assets comprise three homes, a commercial space and a half-share in a Seville garage; two mortgages totaling €70,000 remain outstanding.
Internal party management and financial oversight have also faced scrutiny, including in a related case in which PSOE staff testified about expense approvals at the party’s Madrid headquarters. These developments form part of the political environment in which Montero must balance her roles in Madrid and Andalusia.
Spain’s Senate is the upper house of parliament, with responsibilities that include legislative review and regional representation. The deputy spokesperson helps shape PSOE’s messaging and parliamentary strategy. For Montero, the post consolidates a presence in the national legislature alongside her leadership of the Andalusian opposition, after a regional election that left the party with its lowest seat total to date.
